Sex Isn't Oxygen
by Dana Doggett
Summary: Martin finds out that he's no Mulder.


Title: Sex Isn't Oxygen

Author: Dana Doggett

Dates: First Draft - October 14, 2004.

Final Draft - November 8, 2004

Archive permissions: No

Rating: PG

Category: Martin/Sam

Timeline: post-ep for season 3's "Light Years"

Episode References: "Light Years"

Beta: Broni

Summary: Martin finds out that he's no Mulder.

Author's Note: This is my first "Without A Trace" fanfic. Be gentle I'm still getting a grasp of the characters. This story is brought to you because of all the X-Files references in the season 3 episode "Light Years".

Dedication: To all Martin/Sam shippers out there and to my Doggett/Scully loving friends :) You know who you are.

For the twentieth time since he got home, Martin shifts the Time magazine on his coffee table into a more visually pleasing position. He leans back into his couch and looks around his apartment. Yes, Martin, the place is presentable. She won't judge you based on what your place looks like.

He hasn't even loosened his tie yet. He thought it might be fun for Samantha to take care of that when she arrives.

Martin stands up and walks over to his window. He slowly opens the blinds and lets the light pollution of New York City filter into his apartment. He looks up at the night sky. Are we really alone in the universe or are other civilized beings out among the stars wondering the same thing about us? He shakes his head at himself: too much scifi for one day.

He turns around when he hears two soft knocks on his apartment door. Samantha. A smile forms on his face. She does that to him. After they first hooked up, he had concerns about what her intentions were for sleeping with him. He had worried if he was being used as a rebound guy because she had recently found out that Jack was supposed to be transferring to Chicago to work things out with his wife and children. Now that Jack is staying in New York, and if she truly wanted to work things out with him, surely she would have let him know. Instead she continues to invite him over to her place. Finally, after the past couple weeks they have fallen into a semi-comfortable stride in their newfound relationship. She responded well to his flirtations during their most recent case and asked to see where he lives.

Martin opens his apartment door and sees Samantha before him. She's let her hair down and it rests loosely around her shoulders, framing her face well. There's a playful shimmer in her eyes.

"I'm sorry it took so long for me to get here... Agent Doggett... but you know how difficult it is to write up case reports about alien mutants." Sam grins at him.

Martin steps aside and lets her inside.

"Whatever happened to calling me Agent Mulder?" He's surprised that she is still playing along with their silly X-Files banter.

"Oh... you know... I'm working on giving up bad men." She eyes his apartment. Her mind slips to thoughts of her previous relationship with Jack. "Agent Mulder isn't what Agent Scully needs." She turns around and wraps her arms around Martin's neck, pulling him to her for a soft, gentle kiss.

"Is that so?"

"Mmm, hmm..." her hands slide down to his tie and loosen it.

"So what does this Agent Doggett have that you're interested in?" Martin continues their little talk about themselves in the third person as television characters.

"Respect..." her fingertips fumble with the buttons on his shirt, tediously undoing them. "Loyalty..." Martin closes his eyes when her warm lips kiss his exposed chest. "Honesty..." Samantha looks up at Martin as he looks down at her. Their eyes lock. Samantha smiles. Martin certainly is the opposite of how Jack treated her as their relationship unraveled.

Martin reaches out and lifts her face up to his, gently grasping the back of her head with his hand and kissing her. His tongue slides into her mouth, further exploring his feelings for this woman. He's not sure if it's love or not. What he does know is that he cares deeply for her. He's attracted to her. He's always been a fool for blondes.

Samantha pulls away, catching her breath.

"Are you going to show me around or am I only to see the bedroom this time around?" She tucks a strand of her blonde hair behind her ear, nervously.

Martin raises a concerned eyebrow. He senses hesitation in her question.

"Is everything all right?"

Samantha quickly puts on the mask of denial. Jack is staying in New York, this causes her conflicted feelings. Of course everything is not all right.

"Is this about Jack?" Martin hesitates to ask only half worried what her answer might be.

Samantha's eyes tell her answer. She sighs.

"Are you sure you want to talk about that instead of introducing me to your bedroom?" Samantha doubts that Martin really wants to hear what is on her mind, especially since it has to do with Jack.

Martin steps towards her.

"Sam, I want us to be able to talk about our lives with each other, not just rely on pillow talk to get to know one another, ok?"

Samantha lowers her head. Sex and pillow talk are so much easier for her to deal with in relationships than any actual personal disclosure. She's glad that Martin knows this, wants it, but she doesn't know how to respond to it. She's always kept such things far from her relationships.

"Sam?" Martin is waiting for her response.

"I'm sorry. It's just that I have this thing about not letting men I'm involved with into my life. I took that risk with Jack and you know how that turned out."

"All I know is that you two are no longer involved. Other than that I know nothing."

Samantha walks into his living room and sits down on the couch. She nervously shifts the Time magazine to a slightly different angle. Martin sits down in a chair across from her, giving her some space to feel comfortable talking about her and Jack with him.

"He's the one that called it off. It came as a surprise to me though I know it shouldn't have. Married man, two kids and a mistress. I was a fool to believe anything would come of it. He didn't explain to me his reasons why our relationship ended. He was so... cold..." Sam trails off, remembering how she felt that Jack didn't ever really care or love her when he told her he could no longer be with her.

"You still love him." Martin states bluntly.

"I wish I knew. I have these feelings for you, but I feel that I'm still trying to get over him."

"Maybe we should cool down our relationship until you have time to figure things out inside yourself."

Samantha looks at Martin, unsure of what she should think of this honest and respectful gesture.

"You would do that for me?"

"Sex isn't oxygen. You don't necessarily need it to survive." He smiles at her. He hopes that she sees that he respects her too much to continue sleeping with her until her heart is ready to become completely committed to him.

"Thank you." She whispers.

Awkward silence embraces the room, deepening the bond of their new relationship. Samantha leans forward, clasping her hands together.

"So... now what?"

"Well, you said you wanted to see where I live. So how about I get that tour underway." Martin stands.

Samantha follows Martin into the kitchen. Maybe giving Martin Fitzgerald a chance won't turn out to be yet another mistake in her life. She smiles as Martin opens a cupboard to show her an interesting collection of coffee mugs that he has collected over the years. Perhaps she is finally learning what falling in love and being in love are all about.

The End


End file.
